Touches and Teases
by Kimiosiki
Summary: Naruto spies on Sakura while she's doing something she'd rather no one would know about, let alone see! Will this incident lead to something more later on? Narusaku.
1. How it all started

Naruto was a pervert. Who wouldn't be, after travelling with the author of the best-selling pornography books on the market? It was impossible to escape the habit of certain things, when Jiraiya was bringing home women every night, regardless of his young student. His young student, who after the first few months of this, gave up trying to avoid the direction Jiraiya was leading him to.

It wasn't as though he peeked into the women's side of the hot springs, or pretended to drop something to look up a waitress's skirt. He wasn't stupid enough o do things like that. Jiraiya almost always got caught. Naruto had to be careful, especially because of Sakura. Just as Naruto had adopted some of Jiraiya's ways, Sakura had adopted _all_ of Tsunade's ways, save for gambling.

Brash, short-tempered and a mean right hook to knock out any ninja, she was a real powerhouse. Not to mention a prude when it came to anything to do with sex.

Naruto thought that was ironic, considering she must have given check-ups at the hospital and studied the human's reproductive system. Hell, she had Ino as a best friend. She was bound to get an earful of the latest her blonde friend did, reluctantly or not.

Seeing that he was a pervert, he did not stop watching Sakura masturbate. He didn't stop watching her as her hands played with herself, or when she started making the smallest of sounds. His eyes didn't tear away from her frantic moving hands, as one moved over her breasts and as the other slipped downwards and into her pink curls.

His chest constricted when he heard her breathing start to race, when her small noises suddenly seemed louder. _His_ breathing started to race when he heard the words she started to mumble.

_Naruto… god more! _

His mouth hitched up into a grin as she watched hand pump into herself faster. When he feels his own hand grip his length, he isn't surprised. Naruto knew he was a very impulsive person. He slipped his own fingers into his trousers as he eyed her own on her other hand grip her nipple. She bit down on her lip to stifle some of the noise.

His hand gripped his member as he began slowly pumping it, trying to drink in more of the image before him. His breathing became ragged as he imagined her hand doing that to him. He slid his cool palms along his length, seeing Sakura a few metres away.

His hand continued to go faster as he continued to masturbate to her image. He didn't stop.

He didn't stop even when she saw him.

Later on, Naruto mused that he must have made some form of noise, which caught her attention.

Her eyes had locked onto his half closed ones. She yelled, "Naruto!" and she arched her back from the rush of her orgasm.

Her pants began to slow down and her eyes found his again. His hand was dripping with a white liquid that Sakura was sure was cum. Her face turned red when she realized what he had been jerking off too.

Turning her head away, she tried to cover herself up.

"Why bother Sakura-chan?" Her eyes turned to meet his. "I've already seen everything."

Her face turned into a scowl as she said in a fierce whisper, "_Why the hell were you watching me you pervert?!" _

Widened for the fraction of a second before he started laughing. "Jeez Sakura-chan, I may be a bigger pervert than you, but you were the one masturbating to thoughts of me!"

His grin stretched wider as the look of surprise and horror became more evident on her face. "How long have you been standing there?!"

His grin became a lazy smile as he started walking towards her. "Long enough to have heard that you asked me for more."

Her face took on a look of outrage. "You idiot! Don't you have any respect for privacy?" Even as she heard her own words, Sakura knew that was a stupid question.

"You were jacking off in the middle of the woods!" he spluttered.

"So? If you knew what I was doing, don't continue to watch!" that reminded her that his eyes were a tad lower than hers were.

"Look up here, jerk!"

Naruto's eyes swivelled up to hers, a grin growing across his face. "But Sakura-chan, I thought you liked me staring at you."

"What gave you _that_ idea?" She was definitely pissed.

He eyes trailed down her body and lay to rest on her crotch. The curls were taking on damper darker colour.

Sakura noticed his eyes leaving hers, and followed the trail they were taking.

Oh.

_Oh. _

She looked up to see Naruto's face. It was smug.

_Stupid arrogant bastar--_

"--course?" he had said something.

"What?"

"I said, would you like to finish off with the main course?" he gestured towards his shaft.

_Three._

_Two._

_One._

"_Uzumaki Naruto! Run before I kill you!"_

Both of them should have been grateful it was not a stealth mission.


	2. Old Habits Die Hard

No matter how much pain he had been through, no matter how many bones had been broken, Naruto could just not bring himself to regret spying on Sakura. He had still been thinking how sexy she had looked even while she had been fracturing his leg little by little, slowly applying even more pressure with each passing second.

In addition, this process had all been carried out with her cries of _"Repent, pervert. Repent!" _punctuating the no-longer-silent forest.

Sakura glared at him for the rest of the day. She might have managed to keep staring at him with the Glare of Doom for the whole journey back to Konoha, had she not had to carry him over her shoulder all the way back. Naruto had to note that she had a beautiful butt, from any angle. Preferably, eye-level.

After having dumped in front of a very confused looking Shizune, she had stomped off to report about their findings on the mission to Tsunade. Which was nothing.

Therefore, this made Tsunade displeased; when you add one angry Sakura to one annoyed Tsunade, the results were unpleasant.

Naruto and Sakura returned to training with the rest of Team Kakashi. After the first few days of Sakura's bone-breaking and shin-crushing blows, everything returned to normal between the two (Sakura's definition of normal being that she only broke one bone a day instead of five.)

After those few days of sheer painful agony, Sakura stopped injuring Naruto as much as she had before. She now only dislocated his shoulder. Plus his jaw, if she was in an energetic mood.

Summer time was blazing away in Konoha and so its residents had opted for lighter cotton clothes, to be able to stay cool under the sun. The civilians of course. Most male shinobi just donned trousers and abandoned their shirts.

Let it be said that Konoha's kunoichi enjoy the summer months.

Kunoichi also had their own special summer outfits: shorts no lower than the knees and sleeveless cotton tops. Some kunoichi even wore mid-drift tops to escape from the summer heat.

That, and to catch the eye of their prey.

Konoha's male specimens were _never_ safe in the summer season. Not that they complained. Much.

It was a particularly hot day, when Kakashi rounded up his team for training. Sakura walked from her haven (the _air-conditioned_ hospital) to the usual meeting point (the blazing bridge) and waited for Kakashi to come, along with the rest of her teammates.

And waited.

And waited.

Until-

"_Where the hell is he?" _

Sai wiped a hand across his sweat-covered brow and sighed at Sakura's screech. "If you think imitating a dying bird will make him appear any faster hag, please do so somewhere else."

"_Why you asshole-"_

Naruto tried a more diplomatic approach: "Sakura-chan, we're all hot and tired. Kakashi-sensei will come soo-"

"_And when he does, he'll _wish _he never came!" _

The sudden appearance of smoke punctuated Sakura's sentence. "Now you see why I think I'm not appreciated anymore."

Both Sakura and Naruto whirled round to Kakashi.

"_You!" _Sakura snarled.

Naruto crossed his arms and scowled. "What's the excuse this time?"

Kakashi scratched his head and thought for a second. "There's no excuse really. I was having a shower."

The sound of Sakura's self-control snapping was heard in the dead-silence.

"_AARGH!" _

They had been training for more than a few hours, when Naruto started noticing…_stuff. _

It had been a wise move on Kakashi's part to pair Sakura up with Sai for training, while he sparred with Naruto. He thought that thirty-two years old was a bit of a young age to die at.

Kakashi did feel a slight prick of compunction, when Sakura kicked Sai in the stomach. He did not feel guilty enough to switch places with him.

Naruto swiftly dodged a barrage of kunai and flipped over the incoming missiles. He ran swiftly to Kakashi's left side, and attempted to stab him with a kunai. Kakashi grabbed his wrist and spun him around and Naruto then had a full view of Sakura. Sweaty. Bending down. And not wearing many clothes.

_Oh__, now that's-_

He narrowly missed a punch Kakashi had thrown at him. "Naruto," he chastised, "stay focused."

Naruto could have sworn Kakashi threw him a wink.

Naruto ground his teeth down and charged at Kakashi, but it seemed god had other plans.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sakura bend backwards into a full arch, trying to dodge several shuriken.

_What other positions could she possibly-?_

Kakashi took this opportunity to slash Naruto's uncovered abdomen with a kunai. A very sharp kunai.

"_Oww_!"

"Your fault," Kakashi said dispassionately.

Naruto glared at Kakashi's retreating back, whilst he went to retrieve Sakura.

She came, moments later, with an annoyed look marring her features.

"Idiot."

Naruto grinned sheepishly.

"What distracted you this time?"

_Your hot-_

"Sai's bad looks."

Sakura snorted in response, but set about looking at his wound.

"Shallow, but if not treated it will become infected. I have to disinfect it."

She pulled out her med-pack and set about unpacking her tools.

Naruto spied a particularly nasty-looking one. He didn't ask what it was for.

Sakura bent over him, disinfectant in hand, and started pouring it onto a bud of cotton wool.

Naruto had a beautiful perspective of her breasts.

Being summer and all, Sakura was wearing a cardinal-coloured cotton half-top. With a low-ish collar.

_I love Konoha in summer. _

He could see the top curve of her breasts, with a slight sheen to them.

_Mmm, sweaty breasts. _

She applied the cotton-wool bud over the gash and he gritted his teeth. It was hardly anything, compared to some of the wounds he had received, but that did not stop it from stinging like hell.

Naruto decided that he could put up with the pain. Sakura's breasts were helping him. Not that she knew. Hopefully. She applied her mystical palm technique and a soft green glow enveloped her hands. In a matter of seconds, his injury was gone. No scar. Not even the smallest traces.

Sakura packed away her stuff as Naruto stood up. He offered her a hand and she took it.

"Thanks."

Training had been finished off with a few twisted fingers and a broken nose. Sakura healed them all and applied her own personal brand of bedside care. ("Idiots! What would you have done hadn't I been around. Huh?") She bid them all farewell ("Don't you _dare_ choose training grounds like this again sensei, if it's going to be such a hot day!") and left to go home.

Sai also said his goodbyes. Kakashi and Naruto walked for a while towards Konoha's centre.

"Naruto."

Naruto dragged his mind out of his ramen-filled daydream. "Yeah?"

"I don't mind you being attracted to Sakura. Just don't let it distract you in training or on missions."

Naruto started sweating, despite the late evening breeze. "Um!- well-"

Kakashi chuckled and sent a crescent eye his way, which his students had interpreted it to being the equivalent of a smile. "Also, don't let her find out. I've grown fond of you and I'd hate having to break Sakura out of prison."

Naruto's shoulders nervously shook.

"See you!" and Kakashi poofed out of existence.

Sakura decided a shower was in order.

_Water. Lovely, cold, refreshing water. _

She turned the shower on, and let the water cascade down her body.

_Aah._ _Heaven. _

She stayed static for a few minutes before she started to lather herself with her cinnamon-scented body-wash.

After rinsing off, she turned of the shower and wrapped herself in a towel. She opened the bathroom door and stepped out into the hall. Her apartment was quite spacious, and Sakura liked the wooden floors and walls. It gave her home a certain atmosphere.

And the big windows. They were always a plus.

She opened her bedroom door and closed it behind her.

_Now, what to wear?_

She went to open her closet door. She smiled at the array of colours that presented themselves to her.

_Clothes. _

Her brain released some happy endorphins.

Sakura was a kunoichi first. However, she was a woman second!

She cackled inwardly. Oh, what to choose?

She rifled through her clothes until she found a combination she was happy with. She placed a pair of black three-quarters and a persian-red tank top on her bed. She then selected a black short-sleeved shirt, to be worn over the tank top.

She went across the room from her closet to her dresser, where she kept her underwear.

She picked out a red bra and a lacy black thong.

She dropped the towel to put them on.

Naruto gulped down his beer with gusto and finished off the process by wiping his mouth with his sleeve. Not a very encouraging display of manners, yet effective in its purpose. He tapped his foot in time with the beat of the music, swaying his head slowly from side to side. That had been his fourth beer and he was not even tipsy. The Kyuubi sure was handy for some things.

He gazed out at the people in the club, looking for familiar faces. There was Kiba in the centre of the dance floor, his hands on a girl's hips. Ino was a few feet away from Kiba, dancing with a tall blonde. Neji was at Naruto's table, keeping a stern eye on Lee who was ordering some drink or other from the bar, not touching anything himself. Shino was sitting at the table next to Naruto's and had his arms wrapped around Hinata and his mouth locked with hers. Naruto idly wondered how much they had both drank to be making out so readily in public. They were usually such quiet people…

Kakashi was with Asuma, Genma and Gai, all of them drinking from a pitcher of beer. Kakashi waved to Naruto when he caught his eye. Grinning back, Naruto continued his scanning the room. It was packed, and there were many more people Naruto that knew, but he was looking for one in particular who didn't seem to be there.

He sighed and laid his chin on the edge of the wooden surface of the table.

_Maybe she got an early night?_

He let his eyes rest on the entrance, hoping that she would come. He knew Sakura usually frequented this club when she got the chance, and he knew she did not have a night shift at the hospital.

He released another sigh. Drinking alone was no fun. He got up to get another drink. A strong one.

Sakura and Tenten strolled down the street, their heels barely making staccato sounds over the clubs and bars' music. They had been bar hopping all night, and in a spur of the moment, decided they should go to their regular hangout before heading home. They walked in through the open glass doors. The words, 'The Shuriken Holster', painted on the smooth surface of the glass, flashed at them as they passed. They waved at people they recognized and Sakura was going to move towards Ino when she saw Naruto slumped at a table, alone, sake bottle in hand.

She walked over to him, concerned. Naruto had the best alcohol tolerance that she knew of and she'd rarely seen him drunk. She arrived at his table, placed a hand on his back, and gently shook him. "Hey, Naruto, you okay?"

She received a groan in reply. Slowly, he lifted up his eye and cracked open his eyes to look at her. "Ss-sa-kura?" His eyes were unfocused and his speech was slurred.

Sakura stared at the amount of empty bottles on the table. Some had even rolled off onto the floor. Emitting a sigh through her nose, she bent down to pick the empty bottles off the floor, before someone hurt themselves accidentally. Throwing one of Naruto's arms across her shoulders, she heaved him up. "Come on. We're going home."

Grunting, he stood shakily onto his feet. He slid out of the booth with the grace of a crane with both legs hacked off. Clenching her teeth together, Sakura stared to drag him to the entrance. She signalled to Tenten that she was leaving and received an understanding nod in reply.

Weaving through the crowds of people was no easy feat, yet Sakura managed marvellously. They staggered out of the club and onto the street. Sakura took a few moments to recalibrate herself before bracing her shoulders and continuing.

_Where to take him? To his place? _

Sakura glanced at Naruto through the corner of her eye.

_No good. He's too out of it for that. _

The last thing that she wanted was to find that Naruto had chocked to death on his own vomit the next day.

"Idiot."

Naruto groaned in reply.

Making a mental decision, Sakura stared to drag him in the direction of her apartment, where she could keep an eye on him. Sakura was grateful for the fact that her apartment was not very far. It was close to the hospital and, in turn, the hospital was close to the nightlife area due to the fact of the many casualties that occurred there.

She urged herself to go forwards; Naruto was not easy to carry. He had very little fat, apart from the cheeks on his face. He was mostly muscle and, as a medic, Sakura knew that muscle weighed more than fat.

Her heart gave a surge of hope when she turned round the corner and saw the apartment entrance. Dragging him with new enthusiasm, she pushed open the double doors with her should and started to trek up the stairs.

_Damn high-heels! A dislocated toe is not the price I want to pay for looking good! _

Sakura easily forgot the fact that she opted to wear the heels as opposed to her flats.

She felt Naruto's hand brush against her chest. She hoped-for his sake- that he was unconscious. She reached her floor and had an easier time of dragging him to her door. She felt the hand brush against her breast again. Huffing, she searched her pockets for her key.

_Bingo!_

Grinning victoriously, she inserted the key into the lock, and turned it with the air of someone who had just run a fifteen-mile marathon and succeeded in coming first.

She closed the door with her hip and placed Naruto on the sofa. Kicking of her heels, she went into the bathroom and retrieved a flannel, which she then dowsed under cold water and wiped Naruto's face with.

"H-hey!' As intended, the cold water had roused him. "What was that for?"

"If someone's drunk then you're meant to keep them awake until they vomit. Basic first aid."

Grumbling, Naruto turned over until he lay on his side. Sakura brought him a glass of water and he drank it down greedily.

"Thanks, Sakura."

"No problem."

She watched his mouth tip up at the edges in a smile of gratitude towards her and she watched his eyes flutter as he closed them.

Se felt her heart flutter along with them.

She then remembered he was meant to stay awake. The flannel was plonked back onto his face.

"Oi!"

Naruto woke up with the feeling that something had crawled into his mouth in the night and died there. He woke up with a stale and horrible taste in his mouth, bleary eyes and messier hair than usual. Rubbing a hand across his face, he tried to remember the events of the night before. Heaving himself up from Sakura's couch, he jerked his neck to crack it.

"Sakura? You here?" he called out. He winced at the sound of his loud voice.

Hangovers were a bitch.

Trying to focus on something other than his hammer-like headache, he decided to scout around the apartment for aspirin.

_Where to look?_

He decided to check out her bathroom first. When he finally found it, there was a bra hanging from the handle. That should have been a warning for what was to come beyond the door. Ignoring the bra and opening the door, he left it swinging open while he entered. Although Naruto went over to Sakura's apartment on multiple occasions, her bathroom was always neat and orderly, with no mess to be seen at any time or occasion.

His head turned to look at an open laundry basket. Naruto's face turned gleeful; at the very tip of the pile of clothing, sat a pair of light-pink frilly panties.

After smirking a bit, he went straight towards the bathroom's shelves, where many medicines, antidotes and different types of make-up, amongst other things, where lined up neatly. Scanning the middle shelf, he quickly shoved himself away from it. There, sitting blamelessly on the shelf, was a box of tampons. Naruto was by no means a prude, but not even on missions had he ever been subjected to this kind of feminine needs. There was that one time though when he was dared to take Sakura's panties from her bag and his hand-

Moving on.

Narrowing his eyes at the box suspiciously, he inched closer to the shelves, searching with haste for the aspirin box. Having found the box, he seized it immediately, popped the required amount of pills into his mouth, and took a gulp of water from the sink's tap.

While he wiped his mouth with a white towel from near the sink, his eyes laid to rest on a pile of clothing on the washing machine. To be more specific: a pile of freshly folded jumble of underwear, nightwear and other delicates. He went forward, his fingers trembling slightly.

_Jackpot! _

It is needless to say that Naruto picked up some of Jiraiya's worse hobbies.

He picked up a polka-dotted bra, and felt around the frilled edging with his thumbs.

_I haven't seen this one before. Must be new. _

He turned it over to find a tag. It was always so hard to tell what size a kunoichi's breasts were, due to their constant wearing of binding.

_Ooh, a C-cu-_

"_Naruto, what the hell do you think you're doing?" _

It was a hard thing, Naruto thought, to be a pervert. Being a pervert was like being an adventurer: you had to take huge risks and gamble your very being. You had to have the courage to go through with idiotic plans. You had to be intelligent to be able to ease your way through any situation. You had to be as fast and slippery as an eel, so as not to be caught! And, most of all, you had to be able to run like hell if you _are _caught peeping.

Peeping Toms don't always have it easy. They have to risk seeing god-knows-what when they level their eye against a hole in a wooden fence. Who knows what lies behind that brown barrier: a beautiful woman or a shrivelled hag?

Naruto's eyes squinted against the bright lights of the hospital's emergency ward, as he hazily formed fractured sentences in his mind.

According to the emergency medical team, he suffered major concussion, broken ribs and a fractured pelvis, amongst other such-like injuries.

Naruto's eyes drifted shut again as he gave into the effects of the anaesthesia.

Sakura knew she would not receive a reprimand from Tsunade from almost killing Naruto. After all, her mentor had done he same thing to Jiraiya many years.

Tsunade saw Sakura out of her office with a proud gleam in her eye.

She had a faint suspicion that there would be less perverts in Konoha in the future, with Sakura around.

Ino daintily sipped her milkshake as she listened to Tenten talk about her latest katana.

"It's perfectly balanced and the blade is…"

Hinata was listening with polite interest, only knowing the basics of swordplay due to being a shinobi; it was standard practice to know how to use weapons.

Ino didn't even bother pretend to be listening. She was scanning the crowds for a pink-head.

_Found her~_

"Sakura at two o'clock!"

Tenten and Hinata's heads both turned to look in that direction.

"Hello, Sakura-chan."

"Hey Sakura!"

"What's up forehead?"

"Shut it, Pig."

Tenten waved for Sakura to sit beside her and Ino laughed of the 'pig' comment good-naturedly. Sakura smiled at her friends and ordered a strawberry smoothie.

"So what's this I hear about critically injuring Naruto?" Tenten asked.

Hinata let out a small gasp.

"What, you didn't know?"

"I-is Naruto-kun a-alright?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah he's fine, luckily for him."

Hinata let out a relieved sigh.

""Seriously Sakura, again?" Ino queried.

"He deserved it!"

"Like he did the last twenty-seven times."

Hinata winced. "S-Sakura-chan, are you sure you d-didn't overreact?"

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek and huffed in frustration. "Okay, just because I've been paranoid in the past, it doesn't mean that he _doesn't_ do perverted things."

"So, what did he do this time?" Tenten sipped her frappe, as she waited for Sakura to answer.

"Come on girl, dish!"

"Give me a second, Pig!"

After explaining what happened, Sakura was greeted with the sight of a scandalous face and two very amused, yet unsurprised, faces.

Three guesses which face belonged to whom.

"B-but Naruto-k-kun wouldn't do t-that!"

"Are you kidding me?" Sakura's eyebrows rose up high on her forehead.

Hinata looked mortified. "B-but-!"

Sakura shook her head. "I have been his team-mate since I was twelve years old. This isn't the first time he has made hands at my undies and I hardly doubt that it will be the last."

Ino sniggered. "Just goes to show that you should _always _have nice underwear."

All four girls nodded their heads in agreement.

Naruto had been sipping hospital-standard soup from a spoon when Sakura walked in. She had her Dooms-Day™ face on. Naruto noted that it looked more ominous than usual.

He tried to give her his most confused and innocent stare. He wondered if he could pull this off.

Sakura placed her hands on her hips, her glare not relenting one bit. "Well?'

Naruto continued to eat his soup while looking at her. "Well what, Sakura-chan?" He could almost hear her teeth grinding against each other.

Her eyes narrowing, she asked, "What the hell did you think you were doing when you grabbed my bra?"

Naruto blinked at her and said, "What are you talking about?"

_Come on, play it smooth! You can do this! You are Uzumaki Naruto, the One and Only!_

Sakura's eyes flew open in rage. "What do you mean, what do I mean?"

Naruto blinked at her again, his spoon poised at his lips. "I mean, what are you talking about?"

Bristling, Sakura drew herself up to her full height. Which wasn't much. "I _mean _that I found you in my bathroom man-handling my polka-dotted bra!"

Now, looking thoroughly confused, he asked, "You have a polka-dotted bra?"

Sakura, drawing her brows together, replied, "Umm, yeah, I do. You were _holding _it."

"…I was?"

Now it was Sakura's turn to look confused. _Maybe I hit him too hard? _

"Naruto…how much do you remember?"

He scrunched his nose and tried to remember. "Umm, going out to _The Shuriken Holster._ Why?"

Sakura's mouth formed into an 'o.' If he didn't remember anything it was pointless to injure him further for it. Nodding to herself mentally, she decided to drop the case.

"Well, okay then." She gave him a soft, caring smile. "If you need anything, send someone for me to come, 'kay?"

He beamed back to her. "'Kay. See you, Sakura-chan!"

When Sakura left the room, Naruto Victory-Punched the air.

She had forgotten to check if what he had said was true, on the medical clipboard attached to his bed.

**A/N : **

Sorry guys for not updating earlier. I have no excuses. I just forgot about writing but recently I've been writing like a maniac. I hope it's up to standard and I REALLY hope that you enjoy it

I can't believe the first chapter was three pages only! I am very ashamed

Please tell me what you think about it!

This thing is now basically writing itself. I just need to let my fingers be the medium.

Remember friendlies: Writing is ten percent talent, ninety percent not getting distracted by the internet!

Reviews will ALWAYS be appreciated (even though I don't deserve them.) Show me your love :D

Love you all,

Kimiosiki


	3. Frost and fire

Naruto left the hospital in a good mood. Again, it only took him a week to completely heal, with the help of medics of course.

He strolled down his street and walked up the stairs that led him to his apartment floor. Strolling to the door, he unlocked it with a senbon, having lost the key long ago.

After shutting and relocking the door, he hung his coat on a shuriken, having broken his last coat hanger when Sakura had punched him through the wall.

Not-so-happy memories.

Naruto looked towards the table and found a few dishcloths covering bowls, and a place laid for one. He peered underneath the dishcloths to find hot homemade food. A note was perched against a glass of milk. It read:

_To Naruto, _

_Hope this makes you feel better. Try not to inhale the food. Sorry I couldn't eat with you, but I have appointments to see to at work. _

_Take care,_

_Sakura. _

Naruto had barely ever eaten Sakura's home cooking. The few times she had cooked, he had mainly scrounged off from her, the meal never actually made for him.

_This is a first. I wonder why she cooked me lunch. _

Truth be told, Sakura had cooked him lunch to ease the slight compunction she had been feeling from hitting him so hard, though her rage would have been easily evoked if she had known that Naruto actually remembered everything.

Shrugging his shoulders, Naruto decided that he didn't really care why she had cooked for him. Food was food and if it was free than all the better!

He sat down at the table, broke the chopsticks apart and prepared to dig in. It was warm and Sakura had used just the right amount of soy sauce with it. It may not have been ramen but it was good enough!

He ate with gusto, slurping up the food with non-existent manners, like a boar trying to find a worm in the ground. He finished eating in five minutes flat and drank the glass of milk to finish it off. Smiling contentedly, he slouched off to a small mini-glasshouse that he had built on his balcony. Inside there were many different plants, of different varieties: plants from Wave country, were they were dark green, tough and ferny; plants from Wind country, were they were spiked with thorns and had photosynthetic stems; From Konoha's country itself, big and bushy, they provided the perfect cover for the village and included a beautiful plant with fire-red flowers, called the Hibiscus. It was fitting that it grew in the land of fire.

He picked up a watering can, filled it with water from the kitchen sink and lugged it back to water the plants.

He poured the right amount of water into each pot, except the cacti, having watered them day before. He spoke to them also, as he watered them, with the knowledge that while he was talking they would be getting the required carbon dioxide they needed to function.

He had started talking to them before he had known this though. As a small boy, with no friends and big dreams, he had spoken to the only things that seemed to accept him without comment.

Now he had friends to talk to, friends he knew he could trust and rely on. He mock-wiped a tear from the corner of his eye and chastised himself for acting emo.

_This is no time to act like Sasuke. _

He finished watering them, grabbed a pair of pruning scissors and began to hack away at the weeds like a blind man.

Just because he liked gardening, it didn't mean he was any good at it.

He completed his hobby with a peaceful smile. Gardening was so calming.

Closing the balcony door, he placed the watering can down by the side and went to take a shower.

It was good to be back  
***************************************************************************************************************************************

Sakura had a rather pleasant dream that night.

You know, if you could call pleasant hot and sexy and-

Moving on.

She woke up with a gasp, breathing heavily in short pants. The space in between her legs felt suspiciously sticky and for once, Sakura didn't have to try and remember what her dream had been about. She remembered all too clearly.

In her dream, having found herself on smooth bed sheets that felt more like water than silk, she had felt the lips of another's against hers, his fingers on her ribcage, his hips pressed against hers. Things had progressed far from there and she only caught a glimpse of his face right before she woke up.

It had been Naruto.

She groaned and pulled a hand over her face, rubbing it with exasperation. It wasn't that she didn't like Naruto, but she had learned from the past that having relationships or more than platonic feelings within a team was not good for business.

Sakura refused to drag her team down for the sake of having a guy.

She dragged herself to the bathroom and looked into the mirror: she looked flustered and flushed, as if she had climbed the top of a mountain and had a seizure in between.

All in all not a very pretty sight to see.

She rolled her head in a complete circle and climbed into the shower. Putting the faucet on 'Hot,' she waited for the cascade of hot water to embrace her.

It is needless to say that Sakura's day did not start out well when she was greeted by gelid water instead of her own beloved warm shower.

_Damn them! _

Sakura hated her neighbours in the adjacent apartment. They were civilians, women, and they used up all the hot water frequently.

Sakura had tried hijacking the pipes only to have failed and caused a flood instead inside their apartment. It wasn't a complete failure. She had tried talking to them, threatening them, complaining to them, nagging them, anything to get them to stop being selfish and using up all the hot water, but to no avail.

She grumbled but cheered up slightly when the icy water turned tepid instead.

_Thank goodness for small miracles._

One good thing had come out of that shower though: she had momentarily forgotten about her dream.

She finished her shower with haste and wrapped a fluffy towel around her. She liked her creature comforts. She walked into her room, pulled open the closet, and selected her basic training outfit. She was taking out a sports bra from her dresser when she noticed it. It was red, lacy, and looked like the embodiment of sin.

It was a thong Ino had given her for a previous birthday, in the hope that Sakura would have used it.

She never did, never having found the right occasion for it.

She fingered it between her index and her thumb, wondering if she should wear it to training.

Hanging out with Ino and Tenten had obviously made an impression on her.

She decided that she would wear it. What could go wrong?

Having waited in their usual meeting place for three hours in blazing heat, Naruto and Sakura didn't even bother accusing him of being late, not wanting to waste precious spittle.

They were annoyed as hell at him though, and even Sai showed signs of bloodlust.

Kakashi, to compensate his tardiness, took them to train at the waterfall Yamato had made for Naruto. It was rightfully called the Wind Waterfall, being named by Kakashi after Naruto had managed to slice it in half with his wind element.

Sakura gratefully stood in the spray made by the waterfall, glad to be refreshed. She stretched her arms above her head and cracked her back.

_Ah, much better. _

She turned towards Kakashi, to see what he had planned for the day.

Kakashi set them up into teams and distributed the right weights to each member. The weights were not normal ones, like the weights used by Gai and Lee. They had anti-chakra fluxes in them, designed to make the wearers' chakra erratic. The gist of today's training was chakra control and speed training. To make things even harder, Kakashi set them to spar on the water's surface, making it even more difficult to have the right mold of chakra to let them walk on the water's surface.

Sakura hoped Kakashi knew what he was doing. Sure, they were all used to training until they dropped, but with so many different factors designed to make the training even more challenging, Sakura was prepared for the worst: muscle burnout.

Known to most ninjas, chakra mostly came from the ninja's own natural reserves, but what most ninjas didn't know, was that once the chakra in the reserves was used up, more would be extracted from the muscles. The fact was, that although there was chakra in the muscles, there wasn't a very big amount, so the muscles would have to be totally consumed to extract the required amount of chakra for the jutsus.

The result would be like an anorexic person who had overdone it: possible death.

Sakura, having excellent chakra control, would find no trouble in monitoring the amount she used. She knew when enough was enough. Sai too, knew not to over do it. But Naruto? He went to extremes. From doing barely any work when he had been in the academy, to today's present non-stop training, he never knew when to stop.

Sakura really didn't want to have to drag him back to the hospital.

Sakura strapped the weights on, and felt her muscles work as she tested them by lifting her limbs. She stepped out onto the water and waited for Naruto to join her, so that training would commence.

Naruto shot a sly grin her way as treaded onto the water's surface. "We all know who's the greatest here, Sakura-chan, so there's no use!"

"We'll just see, now won't we?" Was her reply.

It was hard, it was rough and it was exhilarating.

The combination of both weights and the waterfall added to the challenge, something that Sakura relished. She kept some distance away from Naruto, before she launched a kunai barrage.

He dodged every single one of them and tried to attack from beneath her.

Only then did he notice Sakura's lack of a panty line.

Using his distraction to her advantage, She managed to land on his face and push him into the water as she somersaulted backwards. He rose to the surface a little away from her a few seconds later.

It was a good thing the water was icy cold, because he was sure as hell getting hot in certain areas.

In the few seconds it took Naruto to circle Sakura after he had jumped out of the water, he had already come up with two theories on what she was wearing. Either a thong or nothing at all. He went for the former. Sakura was adventurous but not _that _adventurous. She wouldn't take such a big step like that without persuasion.

_I wonder if it's the one made out of ribbons. _

Yes, Naruto was well acquainted with Sakura's under drawer.

He paid dearly for his lecherous thought when Sakura's high kick sent him flying.

She ran to him as he hit a tree. Offering her hand to pull him up she said, "Geez, what's with you? You've been really distracted lately."

Naruto grabbed the hand and said, "I can't help it if your beauty blinds me," winked, and pivoted on his foot so that he launched Sakura towards the water.

Sakura, too shocked from his words, met the water headfirst. She swam to the surface, and spat the water out of her mouth.

_Did he really just say that? _

She turned to look at Naruto and from the smirk on his face, she concluded that yes, he had. Trying to spare herself the embarrassment of replying, she charged at him, intending to dropkick him. She did just that, by grabbing his shoulder as he tried to block, throwing him up in the air and kicking him as his face was ready to greet the earth.

He flew in the air and even Kakashi and Sai stopped to see how far he had been thrown up. Sakura positioned herself to be ready to catch him, and almost lost her chakra control on impact of his landing. She dragged him to the bank of the water pool, and laid him in a prostrate position.

"Hey," she said, panting slightly, "lose some weight."

Naruto grinned up at her from the ground and said, "I thought ninjas and athletes were always meant to be slightly overweight, so as not to lose too much weight from training. You told me that."

Sakura nodded, in agreement. "True, but that's different from eating one too many bowls of ramen," she teased.

He pouted and struggled to sit up straight as Sakura began working on healing his bruises. She roughly pushed him back down again, and he smirked. "Dominatrix," he muttered.

Sakura stopped healing him and turned to look at him. "What did you say?"

"Hmm? I said diligent, because you are." The beaming smile he sent her way did nothing to reassure her.

She gave him a disbelieving grimace and returned on healing him. After a few moments, she got up, brushed her knees and extended a hand to Naruto. He gladly accepted it and gave her another grin. They soon returned to sparring.

Naruto, always having had a _thing_ for girls' underwear, just couldn't stop thinking about Sakura's choice.

_Maybe I could cop a feel? _

Then he remembered Sakura's reaction to when he was fingering her bra.

_Maybe__ not. _

He huffed in frustration as he dodged yet another punch. Why was being a pervert so hard to accomplish? People were so close-minded! If everyone groped a little here and there, the world would definitely be a better place!

Or so he thought.

He grunted in effort as he pulled out a kunai and pushed it against Sakura. He found the strength to push her back with his kunai. She quickly gained balance and took off to his left, and Naruto summoned two other shadow clones. They darted on either side of him, and summoned a giant shuriken each.. They threw them and the giant shuriken crossed each other, meeting in the middle and confusing Sakura.

He had developed this tactic under Jiraiya's watchful eye. Creating two other opponents would confuse his foe, while having them throw eye-catching projectiles and have them meet in the middle of the foe's line of vision would distract his enemy, drawing their eyes there, leaving them to lower their guard. That would be when he threw _his _giant shuriken and nailed his opponent. Since this was Sakura, he would do something less harmful.

Namely, throw himself at her, hug her and drag underneath the surface of the water while tying her up in rope.

_Aah, simple tactics. _

As Sakura's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the two clanging shuriken, he launched himself at her, and broke her concentration enough to let her release the chakra at the bottom of her feet. She looked ghostly in water, he noticed. He quickly tied her hands and legs up before swimming to the surface with her in tow.

"Good, sweet air," he gasped. He pulled himself up to the water's surface and starting pulling Sakura towards land. "Ready to give in?" he grinned.

Sakura shook her head and it was only then that Naruto noticed that her cheeks were puffed out like a baby's face stuffed with food. He fell backwards in surprise as Sakura sprayed him with water from her mouth, which she had held when she had been under water. She stuck her tongue out at his surprised face, removed her hands from behind her back, untied her legs and went to sit on him.

"Your hands, how-"

"Basic ninja technique," she smirked. "Now you were saying something about being the greatest?"

Naruto pouted at Sakura over a bowl of udon. She smiled at him and continued eating her teriyaki. After her victory, she had persuaded (pestered) Naruto into taking her out to eat. Along with Sai and Kakashi.

Sai was happily nibbling on his food while Kakashi was reading the latest volume of Icha Icha:_ Icha Icha Power! _

Sakura glanced at the obnoxious purple cover. "Is that a new volume?" She said, in between bites.

He nodded, without taking his eye off the page.

"Thanks for trying to keep a steady conversation going."

He gave her a thumbs up and said, "If you want a conversation about erotic literature, I'd be happy to oblige," and he took his lone eye of the page and smiled at her.

Sakura inwardly shuddered. Talking about porn with her sensei? "No thanks."

"Thought so."

Sai finished off his food, stood up and said, "I thank you humbly for this meal, Naruto-kun."

Naruto narrowed his eyes suspiciously at him and asked, "And why's that?"

"Because you're paying for it."

"What? Since when? I thought I was only paying for Sakura-chan's!"

Sai smiled at him and waved, before disappearing in a swirl of ink.

"Sneaky bastard," Naruto muttered. He then turned to look at Kakashi.

Who wasn't there anymore.

"Gaah!"

Sakura and Naruto walked side by side, as he escorted her to her apartment. It was late evening and the sun had almost disappeared beyond the horizon. A gentle breeze blew through the streets and Naruto's short spikes danced in a wild frenzy, causing Sakura to giggle.

He walked her right up to her door and she took out her key. "Sure you don't want to come in for a drink?" She asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure, but, Sakura-chan?"

"Mm?" She turned away from the door she had just opened. She noticed that Naruto was looking at her strangely. His eyes were half closed and he had a soft smile on his face. She watched in slow motion, as he reached out a hand and grasped her wrist, pulling her closer to him, hugging her.

"N-Naruto?" Her voice sounded small and unsure.

He placed a hand at the base of her neck and one on the small of her back. She tilted her head up to look at him. His head slanted towards hers and she watched it come forwards.

Then she felt a hand rubbing her rump.

"_Why you_-!"

With a grin, he pushed her into her apartment, saying , "Sorry Sakura-chan!" before slamming the door shut.

When Sakura wrenched open the door again, he was already gone.

"_NARUTO!" _

Naruto stood on top of her apartment building, while mentally patting himself on the back.

_Victory! _

He had managed to grab her goodies. Or some of it.

"_NARUTO!" _

He then decided it would be a _very_ good time to leave.

**Author's Note: **

Please don't ask me what was going through my brain when I wrote this. I really don't know :'D

I really updated quickly this time. Thank you all for those who read this!

Recently (a month ago?) I got a review. It flamed me. Badly. Through talking it out with friends, I realized: Like it or hate it, I really don't care! (: Well, I do, I mean I want you to like it but if you hate it then that's your problem. It made me appreciate every single review, every single story alert, and every single favourite. It helped, I guess, in it's own way. There's no accounting for taste ;P  
I did notice though that what she was flaming me for was her own personal taste. And the fact that she wanted lemons _there and then _because she is a horny bitch :3

Any ways guys, Hoped you like it (: Review please :D


	4. Playing with fire, nursing burnt hands

Playing with fire, nursing burnt hands

Naruto did in fact leave the immediate vicinity for fear of his life and his manhood. He had sorely taken advantage of the situation both of them had been placed in. Once again, he didn't regret it. He focused on the sounds behind him, sure that Sakura would follow soon enough. After half a minute of not hearing anyone attempt killing him, castrating him or otherwise causing him terminal harm, Naruto slowed to a halt, confused at Sakura's lack of chase. He waited another half minute, before shrugging and turning to run home. He wasn't going to complain about lack of injuries.

He arrived for the second time that day in front of his shabby front door, and opened as per usual, via senbon. He removed his shoes before stepping onto the wooden floor and slouched his way to the sofa. He sat down and absent-mindedly fingered a hole in the upholstery. It wasn't like Sakura not to retaliate, especially towards something that forward. Had he gone to far? Naruto nervously scratched the back of his head, and tried to shove away his guilty feelings without much success. He had only just mended their damaged friendship after his stunt with the bra- though there wasn't much to mend with him pretending to have forgotten everything- and he didn't want to drive a bigger wedge between the cracks of their now-unsteady friendship.

_Should I go back and apologize?_

Naruto was stuck for a solution to his problem. He looked up towards the ceiling, as if the answer would be hidden between the peeling paint and humidity marks that were dominating most of his ceiling. Realizing that his ceiling would not be so obliging as to tell him what to do, he looked back down and began to grumble. Mainly about himself.

_Why did I have to do that?_

He groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

_Perhaps I could ask someone for advice?_

He ran through a mental list of people who could possibly help him. Iruka? No. He would be very disappointed with Naruto for treating a team-mate that way. Kakashi? Ditto. He'd also be disappointed with him for possibly ruining team dynamics. Naruto didn't even bother contemplating Tsunade and Sai. One was over-emotional and the other was still developing them. Naruto doubted that asking Yamato would be the best thing, having no idea whether the wood-user was suave with women or not. Naruto was at a dead-end about anyone he could ask. His eyes trailed off to the bookshelves on the opposite wall and he lazily scanned the books. There were several scrolls, most of them depicting taijutsu moves. There were a few books also, but one particular caught novel his eye. Its bright orange cover called out to him, like a siren to a sailor, and he walked forwards before gripping it by its spine and starring at the author's name. He knew who he could ask for advice.

_Ero-sennin. _

Naruto shoved his shoes on and flicked the light switch. He needed to find out if Jiraiya was in Konoha. He once again took to the roofs, eager in his quest, and rushed like there was Orochimaru behind him chasing him with a twenty-foot long snake. He didn't bother checking Jiraiya's apartment. At this time of night there was only one place that perverted sage would be: the Red Light District. Naruto landed on the roof of a very popular club and looked around, scanning the crowd for a shock of white hair. After a good fifteen minutes of searching, yet with still no sign of his former teacher, Naruto decided to brave the prostitution hotspots; not that he was terribly upset with this endeavour. After alighting as gracefully as he could in a crowded area, he pushed past the curtain of one of Jiraiya's favourite host houses. Sure enough, there was Jiraiya, lounging on one of the low couches with at least five women around him. His cheeks weren't a rosy blaze yet, which meant that Naruto would be able to get a coherent sentence out of him. Jiraiya spotted him almost instantaneously and beckoned him over.

"Ero-sennin-"

"Don't call me that!"

Naruto back-tracked. If he wanted advice from the guy, he didn't want to piss him off. "Sorry, Jiraiya-sensei-"

"That's better."

Naruto's eyebrow twitched. Now _he _was getting pissed off. "Anyway, sensei, there's something I need to ask you."

"Training trouble? I thought you were old enough now too-"

"Girl trouble."

Jiraiya immediately looked interested. "Sakura-chan, as per usual?"

Naruto nodded morosely.

Jiraiya cracked his neck before herding Naruto out through the curtain, whilst waving goodbye to the hosts. "Goodbye ladies. You were wonderful tonight!"

An entire chorus of "Thanks, sweetie! "Any time!" and "So were you!" were his replies.

With one last wink, he shepherded Naruto onto the street and looked around to find a semi-quiet pub. Once he did, he strolled towards the bar, bought a pitcher of Sake, and sat Naruto and himself down at a table in a far corner. "So," he said as a poured a generous drink into his own cup, "what seems to be your problem?"

Naruto grimaced over his cup of sake. "Well, recently I caught Sakura jerking off-"

"_Really?"_ Jiraiya said with glee. "I never thought _Tsunade's _pupil would-"

"Ahem."

"Right. Continue."

"And recently she caught _me_ fingering her bra."

Jiraiya had to bite down on his lip to stop himself smiling in pride. _I have raised you well Naruto!_

"Also, today, I groped her butt. Then ran away."

"Yet you're still alive! What are you complaining for?"

"Well, it's kinda weird that she hasn't killed me yet, right? I mean, this is Sakura-chan we're talking about! She's not exactly a very forgiving person!"

Jiraiya sighed. "I still don't see exactly what your problem is here."

"I want to make it up to Sakura and I want to apologize, but I don't know if she's angry. Maybe I went to far this time? I don't know."

They sat in silence before a few moments before Jiraiya put forward his idea. "I think you should go apologize now. Get her some flowers."

"Why flowers?"

Jiraiya shook his head and exhaled in exasperation. "You really are a dolt when it comes to women. She'll appreciate the gesture and will be more likely to forgive you. Get it?"

Naruto nodded eagerly. "Yeah!" Then, the next problem hit him. "What kind of flowers should I get?"

Jiraiya shrugged. "There are flowers growing in the fields behind the Academy. Go pick some from there."

"Thanks." Naruto smiled.

Jiraiya smiled back warmly and both of them began sipping their sake again. "There's something else on your mind," he said after a while. "I can feel it."

Naruto did not bother denying it. "Ah." He cradled the cup in his hands. "I...I really want to date Sakura."

The lack of the suffix showed to Jiraiya that Naruto was serious. He swirled the sake in his cup, thinking what he could reply to that. "Don't make the mistakes I did, Naruto." When Naruto threw him a questioning glance, Jiraiya elaborated. "Don't ever stop trying."

Naruto stared for a second before smiling softly at Jiraiya. "Thank you. I won't." He downed the rest of his sake, stood up and quickly raced out of the bar.

"Good luck," Jiraiya murmured into his sake cup.

Sakura didn't bother chasing Naruto. She was too disappointed in him. Sure, there had been the initial rage, but that had died down to something much worse. She couldn't quite place what it was. It was a fusion of resentment and being let down and frustration. The fury was still there, this is Sakura after all, but it had been shelved for the time being. She slowly went to her bathroom, undressed and showered. She was too upset to even care that her neighbours had stolen all the hot water again. Very sluggishly she dried herself off and wore slacks and a tank top. She padded to the kitchen and made herself some ginger tea, all the while feeling herself go numb. Stirring the tea absent-mindedly, she sat down on her sofa and switched on the television. She stared at the screen, trying not to get too upset and tried to get her mind off what had happened.

_Stupid Naruto and his stupid grabbing hands!_

It wasn't working very well. She flicked through the channels until she came across a documentary. Although Sakura wasn't paying attention to it, the dull voice of the narrator succeeded in soothing her.

_I'm making too much of a fuss. It's just that..._

Sakura remembered how Naruto had looked at her and the way he had leaned forward. And suddenly, she was thinking about it all over again.

_Gaah! Stupid brain! _

She switched off the television and chucked the remote onto the couch. It landed with a soft bump, but it didn't hide the louder bump that had came from her balcony.

She immediately stood up, alert, grabbed a kunai which she always kept at hand, and went over to the balcony door. "Who's there?" She could see a dark shape behind the glass, outlined by the street lights outside. Edging closer quickly, she saw the handle turn and a familiar pair of orange trousers step in. "Oh," she said, "it's you."

Naruto grinned sheepishly at her. He hid an arm behind him and she tried to see what t was in the glass behind him, but didn't manage, for he stepped away from the glass door. "Sakura-chan, I've come to apologize." He stopped grinning and his mouth tipped into a serious line, whilst his eyes held a look of sincerity. "I'm really sorry for what I did." From behind him, he pulled out a bunch of slightly windswept flowers: asters, bellflowers, daisies and a variety of other flowers.

Sakura looked at the flowers before shaking her head. "No, Naruto. You don't to apologize. I...I made too much of a fuss. I'm the one who should apologize."

The look of utter shock on his face made Sakura wish she had a camera at hand. "B-but-!" he protested.

"Don't you want to be forgiven?"

"I mean, yeah! Of course I do!"

"So what's the problem?" Sakura padded over to the couch and patted the seat next to her, a clear invitation for Naruto to sit.

He walked over, flowers still in hand, and sat down slightly hesitantly.

"I won't bite you," she said.

"Nope! Just knock me unconscious."

Sakura winced. "I guess I still haven't apologized for that."

"Are you feeling all right, Sakura-chan? You've _never _apologized to me for hitting me."

She sighed and began nibbling at her lip guiltily. "Umm, yeah..."

Naruto chuckled. "It's fine. You don't need to bother."

Sakura looked over at him fondly and patted him on his arm. "Let me get a vase for those flowers." After having selected a rather nice-looking white and blue patterned one, she filled it with water and let Naruto place the flowers in them.

"Aren't you going to arrange them?" he asked.

Sakura looked over to the haphazard bouquet that rested on a small wooden side table. "Nah. They look good that way."

"Besides the fact that you're crap at flower-arranging."

She shot him a warning look and he wisely shut up. After a few moments of silence, she asked: "Would you like something to drink?"

"Sure! Do you have orange juice?"

She went over to her fridge to check if she had said fruity drink. "No, only peach."

"...Milk?"

Without answering, she brought out a glass from a cupboard and filled it with milk, before pouring herself a glass of peach juice. She brought them over to Naruto, and placed them on a small wooden coffee table in front of them.

"So," Naruto asked, whilst he reached out to take his drink, "you free tomorrow after training?"

Sakura mentally went over her schedule before nodding. "Yeah. How come?"

Naruto shrugged. "I was wondering if you wanted to go to the summer festival tomorrow."

"Uh-"

"It's not a date!" Naruto said hurridly.

And before Sakura could herself: "What if I want it to be a date?" The words flew out of her mouth and hung freshly in the air.

_Good going, genius. Way to make a situation less awkward. Why did I say that?_

Now it was Naruto's turn to be speechless. "Uh..."

Sakura blushed, before saying: "Forget I said that" It's okay to go as friends."

"And what if _I_ want it to be a date?"

Naruto stared at her intently, his eyes gazing right into her own, and Sakura blushed a light shade of pink. "I-I don't think I'd mind."

His serious look morphed into one of pure joy and excitement. _"Really?" _

Sakura nodded, slightly hesitantly in the face of his exuberance.

"Awesome! I'll pick you up an hour after training finishes, okay?"

Sakura nodded once again in agreement. She had been left slightly inarticulate.

Naruto finished his milk in one gulp, placed the glass on the coffee table and stood up. "Well, I have to go get an early night! Have to catch up on beauty sleep, y'know."

Sakura chucked at his lame joke before nodding and standing up also. "See you," she said.

"Take care!" was his reply, before he flung open the balcony door and flung himself off it.

Sakura sighed in slight felicity, before going to the the kitchen to clean up the glasses.

Naruto woke up the next morning in a state of the vigorous kind. He shot up from bed, like he had been sleeping on spikes, and immediately went to shower. He couldn't wait for training to be over as fast as possible, because, for the first time ever, he was going on a date with _Sakura!_

_Oh yeah! Who's the man? Mhmm!_

Mentally cheering himself on, he stepped into the shower and energetically drenched, lathered and rinsed himself. He stepped out of the shower, applied deodorant with equal energy and stepped into his usual training clothes. Then he remembered something important: he had nothing to wear to the festival. He forced himself not to panic. There was one person he could count on for old fashioned clothing. Jiraiya.

_This is going to be the second time I've asked him for help. He's so going to rub it in my face!_

Naruto mentally sighed, before making sure he had all his training equipment and leaving his small flat. Time to track down the old pervert again.

Sakura, that same morning, was facing a similar crisis. She had tried on her old kimono, which she hadn't worn in around three years, just to make sure she would look presentable. She looked anything but. A fifteen-year old's yukata did not fit well on an eighteen year old with developed curves.

_Who on earth can I borrow a yukata from at this time?_

Then, her thoughts, unknown to her that they were similar to Naruto's, fell upon one person who could lend her a yukata.

_Tsunade._

She immediately scoffed down a quick breakfast, left and locked her apartment, eager to search for her mentor. On a Saturday morning, Tsunade was still usually at her home, trying to recuperate from her "secret" binge drinking on Friday. Sakura had no trouble getting to her master's home, having been there many a time before. She knocked respectfully at the door, and tried to wait patiently for the Hokage to let her in.

Tsunade answered the door in a few minutes, record timing on a Saturday morning, and Sakura breezily greeted her with a cheerful "Good morning!"

Tsunade grunted and stepped aside to let her former apprentice in. "You're too chipper this morning." She had faint circles under her eyes and her mouth dropped along with them.

"I was wondering, Tsunade-shishou, if you had a yukata you could lend me. Please?" Sakura flashed her past mentor a pair of green puppy eyes.

"No need to use that tactic with me," Tsunade grumbled. "As a matter of fact, I do have an old one that might suit you." She indicated for Sakura to follow her, and she did so eagerly, impatient to see her date-attire.

Tsunade led her upstairs into an unused guest bedroom. In one corner sat an old armoire, of cloud design. She heaved open the wardrobe doors and began sifting through the various articles of clothing that were suspended from hangers. Sakura smiled at the array of colours before her; being used to Tsuande's usual green vest, she was mildly surprised to see the rainbow stored in her closet. After a few moments of deciding which would look better on Sakura, Tsunade presented her with a beautiful silk yukata. She dumped it into Sakura's arms with the order to "Put the damn thing on so I can go back to sleep." She turned around to give Sakura some privacy.

Sakura stared at the yukata with nothing less than awe. Each design had been hand-painted delicately, with smooth strokes, hardly showing, as if the pictures were merged with the very cloth itself. The yukata was a deep red, with a light airy blue obi that had turquoise and deep green swirled patterns. The yukata itself had a flock of cranes flying from the hem to her right shoulder, and single feathers dotted the kimono, along with white jasmine flowers. Sakura quickly tried it on, after having admired it. She asked Tsunade to tie the obi for her, and she did so and finished it off with an intricate knot.

Tsunade dragged Sakura to a full-length mirror which had been placed into the wardrobe's interior. "Beautiful," Tsunade said. "Now get out."

Sakura laughed, removed the yukata and thanked Tsunade deeply.

"Who's it for?" Tsunade asked as she held the door open for Sakura.

"For me."

"_No_," Tsunade said sarcastically. "I meant, who are you going with to the festival to want a yukata? You haven't worn one in ages."

Sakura nibbled her lip, before replying: "Naruto."

Tsunade was surprised for a second before she nodded and shut the door. "'Bout time," she said behind the layer of wood.

The day past by in a blur for Naruto. He hadn't been able to find Jiraiya before training; the old man hid to well in order to recuperate from his hangovers. He tried again, right after, dashing to the writer's apartment. Sure enough, he was there, gingerly sipping a glass of tea.

"Naruto," he greeted him with. "How did it go?"

"What? Training? That was fin-"

"The apology, you idiot."

"Oh yeah! Umm, yeah. She apologized to _me._"

"Hmm," Jiraiya stirred his tea, contemplatively. "That's interesting. So," he said after having pondering Naruto's information, "why are you here?"

"I need something to wear for the festival. Now. Badly."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow.

"Please?"

"Oho? Would I be correct in presuming this sudden need for formal attire is for a certain pink-haired team mate?"

Naruto nodded hurridly. "I have to meet her in an hour, so if you'd be so kind, _please do you have something I can wear?"_

Jiraiya smiled lazily over his cup of tea, then drained it. "As a matter of fact, I do. You'll like the colour. Used to be mine." He stood up, placed the cup in the sink and told Naruto to stay where he was, before entering his bedroom. He emerged a few minutes later carrying a pair of black hakama and a burnt orange yukata. The yukata was a matte burnt orange, that was more pleasing to the eye than Naruto's standard retina-burning hue. The colour of the yukata was complimented with blue waves crashing on the hem of his yukata and they swirled into a whirlpool on the back of it.

He chuckled at the irony. "Fate."

"Mhmm," Jiraiya agreed. "Bought that for the Fourth Hokage actually. Never was a huge fan of orange, but he liked it enough."

"Why do you still have it?"

Jiraiya shrugged. "No clue, really. Last thing I can remember about having it was something to do with lots of sake, many women and a horse." He waved aside Naruto's questioning look. "Can't remember anything besides that. C'mon, go home and get pretty for Sakura-chan."

Naruto snickered. "Will do!" he said before leaving.

Sakura finished tying the knot in her obi, before she slid it around so that it would rest at the back. Not a perfect knot, but a good one. She walked out into her living room, where she saw the flowers still surviving in the summer heat in that little vase. On impulse, she picked an aster and placed it into her hair. She took one last look into her mirror and deemed herself presentable: she had complimented the yukata with her ninja boots and had tied her hair up into a simple bun. She told herself to stop panicking, it was _Naruto _and-

Her heart jumped when she heard a knock on her door. Suddenly her mind was flooded with a torrent of inane thoughts.

_Is my hair all right? Will he like my yukata? Did I over do it? Did I-_

Her thoughts were cut short as he knocked impatiently again. "Sakura-chan," he called from behind the wood. "It's me! Open up."

She took a deep breath, reminded herself that this was her team-mate who had seen her in _much _worse conditions, and opened the door for him. A whirl of orange greeted her as he rushed in to hug her. She breathed in the scent of sharp spices and underlying citrus which mingled with his own natural fragrance.

"You look wonderful," he said, grabbing her hand to lead her outside.

"You do too," she said, taking a proper look at him.

A/N: Hola guys :D Sorry haven't updated for a while, for those of you who still bother reading this. I wrote this just before my exams which start in two days :D It's a pity I only get motivated to write when I have loads of things to do D: I hope you like this chapter :D I wrote it in the span of a few hours. What I could write if I wasn't so lazy...

Please tell me what you think :D

See you ^.^


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